Hunt, Slay and Bleed

“Artus?” A voice gently shouted, a room’s length away. “Artus? Wake up. Breakfast is ready.” The voice continued. Artus moaned in his sleep, using his hand to wipe his face and eyes to nudge himself more awake. He slowly opened his eyes, staring up at the wooden ceiling of his room, whilst still laying in his bed. The bedsheet was wrapped around him, the result of moving around at night. And truth be told, he didn’t wish to actually wake up despite the smell of fresh cooked meat and veggies wafting the morning air. “Seriously, wake up!” A fair-skinned woman popped through his door. Artus turned his head to his Aunt, looking at the black-haired woman before she spoke again. “Are you forgetting you were supposed to go hunting this morning? If the trackers start their hunt before you, it might be difficult to find anything.” She remarked.

Hainer stared at her in silence simply too tired to say anything. He knew she was right. Often the trackers in town would do their hunt, and bring back food to distribute and sell within town. However, Artus would often hunt on his own, to bring back food for himself and his aunt without sharing any of it with the other townsfolk. It wasn’t something that was unheard of, and quite frankly, Artus preferred it. However, it could be dangerous as often he had to go on these individual hunts by himself. On this particular morning however, he was feeling lazy and wished to simply lay in bed. “Yeah, yeah…I’m getting up.” A shirtless Artus stumbled out of bed, simply wearing silk shorts. He walked over to a nearby dresser, pulling out a folded shirt, before being interrupted by his aunt.

“No, go wash yourself outside. And then come in and get dressed before eating.” His aunt lectured him, as he sauntered his way outside to the bath house.

~

“So where are you thinking of hunting today?” Aunt Myra sat in front of Artus as he began to eat. He always felt much more alive once he had washed himself and freshened up.

“Honestly? I am going to stay near the forest line. There’s no point in going deep into the forest.” Artus replied taking a bite of his food.

“Good idea. Don’t spend more time than you need to in there. I know sometimes I pressure you about the hunts, but truth be told, I’d rather you not go at all. Money is just tough right now…” Myra frowned.

“Look, it’s fine, Aunt. Not a big deal, I’ll get something to eat and then maybe even extra to sell if I get a chance.” He said, smiling as he got up and wiped his mouth with a cloth. He grabbed a bow and arrow nearby, putting the quiver on his back before getting his sword as well. Most townsfolk actually did not resort to their wolf form when hunting regular animals, as it would often let them avoid unwanted attention from whatever was in the woods. There was one instance of a small group of humans that Artus ran into, managing to convince them he was normal like them, and had simply lost his way. However, for hunting missions that required them to go deeper into the forest, turning into a wolf is a must. And truth be told, Artus found transforming to be incredibly taxing on his body.

“Okay, well be careful. And don’t be too long - get in, get out. Okay?” She said, concerned. Artus nodded, before giving her a kiss on the head, and headed out the door. Artus made his way down the grass and dirt path that led to the western part of town, where he could access the forest. However, to get there, he had to pass through a small market where several townsfolk would often sit around, selling stuff at their booths or just simply waste time by hanging out and gossiping with each other.

“Oh, is that day of the week?” An older man, in his late 50s sat on a wooden table and chair in front of the local tavern, drinking a mug of cheap mead. The man was known as Zeke. He often taunted Artus and his Aunt, for not wanting to partake in more of the town traditions. “It’s about time you climbed out of your shack, and face the sunlight.” Zeke laughed, taking a gulp of his morning drink. “At least I know you aren’t a vampire.” He chuckled to himself, as did several townsfolk sitting near him.

‘That’s really not that funny.” Artus replied, standing his ground a bit. Zeke suddenly stood up, his large frame walking up to Artus. Zeke had a bald head, large gut and arms and stood taller than Artus, trying to intimidate him by looking at into his eyes.

“Don’t talk back to me, boy.” He said, warning Artus. “You know what’s not funny? You two thinking you’re better than all of us. We should round up all of the townsfolk like you and banish you lot to the depths of the forests. Then you’ll see how nice you had it here.” Zeke spoke down to Artus, and he knew the man was serious about the banishing. If he had it his way, he would get rid of the townsfolk who deviate from wanting to be apart of the town’s system. Artus stared at Zeke and then several other men who were sitting with him, before turning around and walking past them. Artus knew this wasn’t a fight he could win with him being surrounded, and it would have been best to ignore them for now.

~



“Steady…Steady…” Artus muttered to himself, raising a bow and arrow in front of him, pointing it at a ram. It stood in a grassy patch nestled between trees, bending down to chew on some lush green grass. Surrounded by the shade of the woods, Artus hid himself a good length away near bushes, to ensure the ram couldn’t spot him. “Aaaaand fire!” He mumbled to himself, letting loose an arrow, but narrowly missing the ram, going over its head. The ram noticed immediately, and galloped away out of sight. “Damn it!” Artus cursed aloud, hastily walking towards where his arrow missed to see if it was still salvageable.